


Forever

by Tarnist (Titarnia)



Series: Together Through Everything [2]
Category: Assassin's Creed - All Media Types
Genre: Emotional Hurt, Falling In Love, He's paralyzed from the waist down, Heartbreak, High School AU, Idiots in Love, Kadar Al-Sayf Lives, Kadar in a wheelchair, M/M, Malik still only have one arm, Modern AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:29:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,083
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23430961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Titarnia/pseuds/Tarnist
Summary: Forever lasted only a few weeks, then Altaïr had to leave.Because, forever never lasts that long and Malik is tired of it all.'Together Through Everything'Is a compilation of, what I thought to be only one-shots, of Altaïr and Malik being adorable dorks in love through all the different AU's I can think of.
Relationships: Malik Al-Sayf/Altaïr Ibn-La'Ahad
Series: Together Through Everything [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1685524
Kudos: 24





	1. Promising Forever

**Promising Forever - Part 1**

He had been spellbound when he had first laid eyes on the new student. There wasn’t really much to him, other than the fact that Altaïr thought he was cute. He was a few inches shorter than Altaïr, he looked both skinny and strong. And then there was his missing arm. Some of the girls had tried asking about it, but he ignored every question about it. Must have been some traumatising event, granted, the man did miss an entire arm. He had a brother who was a year younger, and who was in a wheelchair. The younger brother looked like the purest ray of sunshine, despite being paralyzed from the waist down. Compared to his younger brother, the new student looked like a moody teenager who didn’t really care about the world. 

“Malik!” The younger brother greeted as he rolled up besides his brother, who slowed his pace for his younger brother. 

“Hey, Kadar.” Malik replies, his voice soft. How Altaïr wished Malik would talk to  _ him _ like that. Ezio hit Altaïr’s head with his Spanish textbook, trying to take Altair’s attention off of the new kids. 

“Altaïr Ibn-La’Ahad, stop staring. I know his ass looks divine, but don't stare.” The Italian sais, giving Altaïr a knowing smile.

“Wasn’t really focusing on his ass. But I will be now, thanks a lot Ezio.” Altaïr sighs, turning to his locker, already beginning to think of Malik’s ass.

“You are most welcome.” Ezio grins before evading a punch from Altaïr.

“Who is he crushing on now?” Desmond asks as he walks over, textbooks in his arms and his bag filled with books from the library. 

“Altaïr was staring at the new guy.” Ezio defends, as if feigning ignorance to the question directed at him. Desmond lifts an eyebrow at Altaïr, but doesn’t say anything. Ezio always jokes about Altaïr having no love life, it wasn’t entirely a lie. He never really felt anything like that towards other people, but something about Malik Al-Sayf had been intriguing. 

“Ezio made a comment about his ass being divine.” Altaïr gave back, sticking his tongue out at the Italian before taking his textbooks and stuffing them in his bag. 

“He does that every time you look at someone, even if you’re just spacing out.” Desmond said, giving Ezio a disapproving look. The bell rang and the separated and went to each their classroom for their next classes. 

Just his luck. First, Malik had taken the empty seat next to Altaïr. Then, they had been put in the same group for a History assignment. They had all been split up in pairs of two or three, and Altaïr had been paired with Malik. They had to pick a place, either a building with historical value or a ruin with historical value. Taking out his laptop, Altaïr shared his screen with Malik as they looked up some places. And then they found Masyaf. All the other places they had looked at, they had talked about the place. What kind of history it had and if they felt like they could do a good enough assignment with it. But neither of them had anything to say about Masyaf. Altaïr had been there before, he knew its hidden history better than anyone else. His mentor took him there every summer vacation. Altaïr could feel Malik’s eyes on him. Piercing into him, trying to figure something out. 

“Altaïr?” Malik asked, sounding unsure by Altaïr’s sudden stillness. 

“Ah, Masyaf castle and city. Excellent choice boys, can’t wait for your presentation.” The teacher said as he walked by and saw them sitting and saying nothing. Shit, Now he  _ had _ do do an assignment of the place. 

“Yeah. It, uh.. Has a lot of ancient history.” Altaïr said, turning around and giving the teacher a smile. The teacher left them to their work and went to another pair of students, making Altaïr heave a sigh.

“You know this place?” Malik asked, looking at him with wide eyes in disbelief. 

“Yeah. My mentor takes me there every summer.” Altaïr said, for the first time looking at Malik’s face. Shit, he was more than just cute. He was flat out adorable. 

“I have never seen you there.” Malik whispers, leaning in closer to Altaïr to make sure nobody heard them. Wait, Malik had been trained too? Was that why he looked like he could lift a car with that skinny arm? Altaïr leaned in closer, making it look like they had found something interesting on the laptop. 

“Have you been training there?” He dared ask the one-armed man at his side.

“Together with my brother, Kadar.” Malik answered. Then, why hadn’t they seen each other. Altaïr didn’t even know there was others training there at al.

“I was probably kept for myself with my training, I didn’t even know others trained there as well.” Altaïr confessed, looking down at his missing ringfinger. He had only been eleven when they had cut it off, when he had begun his training. Whenever somebody asked, he always said he had accidently cut it off with a kitchen knife as a kid. It was probably close enough to the truth, because it felt more and more real for every time he had had to say it. 

“The mentor always took time off. Told us he had to see to the training of his protégé. Could have been you.” Malik whispered back. They sat in silence until the bell rang and they began packing their things. 


	2. Promising Forever

**Promising Forever - Part 2**

They were sitting in Malik’s room, studying for their History assignment. They had been discussing how much they could be allowed to include about the Assassins there, without giving too much away. Altaïr had talked with his mentor about it the previous day, and had been told it was alright and that it didn’t matter how much they talked about the Assassins. As long as they made it seem like a myth, or a legend. A sect that didn’t exist anymore. 

“Think we could add the creed?” Malik asked from his position on the floor. Altaïr had taken up the bed, laying on his stomach with his computer in front of him. 

“It’s just three things, I don’t think it’ll be that big of a problem. Al Mualim did say we just had to make it seem like something that wasn’t there anymore.” Altaïr responded, writing some things down on his computer. 

“So far we have a bit about the Assassins. The initiation, the creed, the ranks and their mission. Also their fight with the Templars and Crusaders. It’s not like it hasn’t been used for much more than an Assassin stronghold.” Malik said, looking through his notes. 

“Pretty much.” Altaïr agreed, looking over at Malik. Their eyes met, and Altaïr could feel the heat rising to his face. So he hurriedly looked down and started typing away once again. Malik shrugged and looked back at his own notes. 

The presentation had gone better than expected. They had gotten an A+ on the assignment, and the whole class really believed that the Assassins had been real but didn’t exist anymore. They had even added Masyaf village to it all, that had given them ekstra credit. 

Malik found him sitting out in the rain. He was in a bad mood, and not even the adorable face of Malik could do anything to lighten his mood. Al Mualim had been cross with him for some unknown reason, so Altaïr did what Altaïr did best. He ran away. He had hidden himself in the park, his dark shoes, pants and hoodie hiding him from any untrained eye, so of cause Malik would find him. 

“Altaïr?” Malik asked, holding his umbrella over them both as he crouched down to be at almost the same eye level as Altaïr. 

“Leave me alone.” Altaïr sneered at the man. He really just wanted to be left alone.

“You’ll get sick, sitting out here in the rain.” Malik said, looking at Altaïr like he was a lost kitten. Altaïr didn’t want to look at Malik. He didn’t want his sweet adorable Malik to be tainted my his anger. 

“Just leave me alone.” He sneered again, still not looking at the man in front of him.

“If you want, you could come to my place. You’ll be out of the rain and away from Al Mualim.” Malik’s soft voice drifted towards Altaïr. His head snapped up. How did Malik know that he didn’t want to go back to Al Mualim. Malik smiled at him, like the way he has ever only smiled at Kadar. Altaïr reached out a hand and took the umbrella from Malik. Making sure Malik didn’t get soaked, Altaïr stood up and they walked towards the Al-Sayf house. 

He stayed for the rest of the month, sharing a bed with Malik and becoming real close to Kadar. There had been an accident one summer, it had almost cost Kadar his life. Malik had saved him, but had lost his arm in the process. Malik didn’t mind missing an arm, as long as he still had his brother he was satisfied. One saturday morning, Altaïr didn’t feel like leaving the bed. Malik got up without him, giving him a soft look before leaving the room. An hour or so later, Altaïr finally got his ass dragged out of the bed and downstairs. 

“Look who’s awake.” Came Kadar’s voice from the kitchen, looked like they hadn’t moved after eating breakfast. 

“Yay. He’s awake.” Altaïr joined in, in a sarcastic tone meant to keep the joke going. And it  _ did _ make Kadar laugh, and Malik gave him a smile and then became serious.

“Altaïr. Al Mualim came by while you were still sleeping.” Malik began. Altaïr tensed, he really didn’t want to go back there. He wanted Al Mualim to leave him alone for the rest of the school year. 

“What did he want?” Altaïr asked, hiding his hatred for the man.

“He said you could stay here until summer. He even left some of your stuff here.” Malik pointed at a few boxes stored up along the wall at the front door. Altaïr nodded, and then cracked a smile. Malik gave him a smile, and Kadar began to drive his wheelchair around in circles while making exited sounds. 

It was a strange feeling. In just a few weeks he’d have to leave and go back to Al Mualim agan. Sleeping with Malik in his arms had become so natural, it was almost hard to have to let it go. It was another saturday night, and the two were watching a movie on Altaïr’s laptop. t was a movie they had seen a million times already, but they liked it anyways. Altaïr wasn’t paying attention to the movie, but to Malik. Even with the dim light from the movie, he was beautiful. He had stopped looking cute and adorable. He was beautiful. Pretty just didn’t cut it. Malik paused the movie and looked over at Altaïr. They laid there, on the same bed. Their feet entangled and shoulder to shoulder. If Altaïr stretched out his head, his lips could reach Malik’s. As if reading his thoughts, Malik leaned over and planted his lips in Altaïr’s. He didn’t want Malik to pull away, but he did. Plinking at the man by his side in shock and realisation, he tackled Malik and engaged him in a heated kiss. The laptop fell to the floor, down to a heap of pillows. Altaïr had Malik pinned under him, their lips only parting to give them air so they could breath. 

“I will never leave you, Altaïr.” Malik breathed out after a heated kiss.

“Malik, I promise I’ll come back to you. I will  _ not _ let Al Mualim keep us apart.” Altaïr whispered, sealing the promise with another heated kiss. 

“Forever, Altaïr. The two of us. Forever.” Malik whispered, looking at him with those soft brown eyes.

“Forever.” Altaïr whispered, sealing another promise with a kiss. Not as heated as the last. This one, with pure love.


	3. Forever Never Lasts

**Forever Never Lasts**

Forever didn’t last. Forever never lasts. That summer, Altaïr hadn’t come back from Masyaf. They had finished High School, so Al Mualim could keep Altaïr in Masyaf as long as he wanted. But that had been ten years ago. Ten fucking years. And not a single message from Altaïr. Al Mualim had told him to forget about Altaïr, he was where he belonged. He had been so stupid, falling in love like that. It was once again summer, and they were going to Masyaf. They were still training Malik, they couldn’t use Kadar for any fighting but he was coming anyways. If Malik ever laid eyes an Altaïr, he didn’t know _what_ he would do. And it scared him. Kadar said he still wasn’t completely over Altaïr, even after ten years. And Kadar might be right, because something deep inside of Malik couldn’t wait to see Altaïr again. 

He had been shocked when he saw Altaïr. The man had changed so much in the past ten years. He wasn’t as scrawny as he had seemed, and his face was i a constant state of seriousness. The man never smiled, not even a smirk graced the man’s scared lips. Kadar was placed with some of the elders, going through tons and tons of paperwork. Not that Kadar minded. He liked being able do at least to _something_ for the Brotherhood. They had been coming every summer, but this year had been the first time Altaïr hadn’t been training by himself. It also happened to be the year Malik and Kadar permanently moved there. Kadar had been excited about the move, he was always excited when they had to move. And they had done their fair share of moving around. Announcing themselves to Al Mualim had only taken a few minutes. Altaïr had been standing behind the man, silent and passive. He had only looked at them once, and then had continued to ignore them.

That was two weeks ago.

Malik had only seen Altaïr in passing, and Altaïr didn’t seem to try and seek him out. Forever really didn’t last. Malik began focusing more and more on his training. He still had some way to go, now that he only had one arm. He was helping out the youngsters one day, when one of them asked about his missing arm.

“An accident happened and I lost my arm.” Came his reply, readying himself for another training round. The youngsters followed suit, and nothing more was said about Malik’s missing arm. He was becoming more and more agitated with each passing day. No matter how many times he told them not to ask about his missing arm, no matter how many times he gave them the same answer, the youngsters still asked. Day in and day out, they kept asking. He was on his way to see Al Mualim because he had yelled at the youngsters. He really was bad at controlling his temper. He knocked and waited. He didn’t have to wait long before he was let in. Altaïr was once again standing behind Al Mualim. Silent and still as a statue. 

“Ah, Malik. Come on in and take a seat.” Al Mualim said with a smile, gesturing to the chair in front of his desk. Malik took a seat, his face cold of any emotion. Those youngsters had had it coming, and he wasn’t about to apologize for anything. 

“You called for me.” He said, stating the obvious. Al Mualim nodded and smiled.

“Yes, yes. I did indeed. You see, I heard you shout at the youngsters. And I’m afraid I haven’t the faintest idea why.” The man said, sitting down at the other side of the desk. Altaïr still not moving. 

“They have been bothering me with the same questions for three weeks now. I have given them answers, but further answers are too personal. So I snapped. Nothing more, nothing less than that.” Malik answered, still nor fazed by the shock he had given the youngsters when he had shouted at them. Al Mualim nodded a few times before sending Altaïr away. 

“The loss of your arm was a great sacrifice. And your brother has been a rather great presence with the elders. He keeps them on their toes.” Al Mualim grinned at Malik. “I am glad we did not lose either of you.” He finished, his expression going soft. 

“I am glad to have my brother still.” Malik agreed. He really didn’t know what he would have done if he hadn’t at least _tried_ to save Kadar. Losing his brother would have been the end of him. 

“I shall have the youngsters informed not to ask any more questions about your missing arm.” Al Mualim said, dismissing him. As Malik walked out, he brushed past Altaïr. They shoulders bumping together and Malik feeling a piece of paper being put in his pocket. he stopped up and looked after Altaïr, the man having once again joined their Mentor’s side. 

“Thank you, Master.” Malik said, knowing it wouldn’t be good if he didn’t say anything after turning around. Al Mualim smiled and nodded, and Malik left and closed the door after him. 

Getting to his room and opening the small folded piece of paper, Malik hadn’t hoped for anything good. They all lived a primitive life with only limited technology around. The note was from Altaïr himself, and it was short. Only a few words were hurriedly scribbled down on the piece of paper Malik was now holding in his hand. 

_I’m sorry._

_I have lost you._

_Forever didn’t last._

_-A_

And the note was right. There hadn’t been any questions, but Malik knew the last to were questions. 

_I have lost you, have I not?_

_Forever didn’t last, did it?_

And yes, Altaïr had lost him. And yes, forever _didn’t_ last. It was over, all of it. The pure nature of the note said it all. Al Mualim had him in the palm of his hand. He would eventually know about the note as well, so Malik burned it. And with it, the last shred of hope for ‘forever’. All burned to nothing. Malik closed his heart. Nothing could penetrate it, not even Kadar. Because Kadar was in there with it. Locked away, never to see the light again. His love for anything was gone like that. Because..

_Forever Never Lasts._


End file.
